Mary Persephone HailMary—well-wished-for child.Persephone—destruction.Hail—well that speaks for itself.Her name is painful to think about. Mary, his newfound daughter, isn’t a wished-for child. Persephone, though? Yeah, destruction is a fitting description. And Hail? Yeah, that’s just the final f-you.The moment that her mother drops her off on his doorstep, Dante’s hell becomes complete. Or so … Dante’s hell becomes complete.
Or so he thinks.
What can make life worse after losing one’s wife and kids, you ask? Here’s what: being given a baby that depends on him for her survival. Finding out that the baby’s mother is dying of brain cancer, and has a husband that he never knew about. A husband that Dante knows in the marrow of his bones is trying to kill her just as surely as the cancer eating her brain.
Dante’s a bad person. He’s done some not so nice things, and now he’s being punished for his misdeeds. Karma is finally catching up to him.
This child that he’s been stuck with is of his flesh and bone. This child is his salvation. This child is the final nail in the coffin of his wife and daughters’ too short lives.
He doesn’t want this child.
But this child will save him whether he wants her to or not.
With the help of a friend—yes, a woman friend—Dante finds his way back to life. But what he finds when he gets back isn’t the same life that he left behind. Turns out, he has to start living a new one. One where he’s suddenly having feelings for a friend that helped him get through some tough times, and loving a daughter that won’t let him quit.
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Lani Lynn Vale’s Hail brothers have the ability to bring readers to their knees, overwhelmed by all that these alpha males have endured and hopeful that each one of them will find the woman he can’t live without…the woman who will open him up to all that life offers and give him everything he needs to move forward instead of dwelling on the past.
Out of all of the Hail men, Dante Hail is the one who has been completely lost to the darkness ever since he lost his wife and girls due to a set of heartbreaking incidences. Through his brothers’ stories, readers have witnessed Dante’s downward spiral; he’s a ghost of the man he used to be and for years, he has shut out his family…shut out the world, resolving to simply exist with the festering wound of loss, afraid to start living again because any attempt to go forward seems like a betrayal to Lily, Jade, and Toni.
I wasn’t sure what to expect as I started Dante’s story. I knew that it would be emotional…I knew that it would be a harrowing task for Dante to pull himself away from his grief, anger, and heartbreak, and I was prepared for him to resist any attempts on his family’s part to help him move on. But what I wasn’t prepared for was how broken the heroine of his story would be…shattered in a different way that Dante but still carrying the same shadows behind her eyes and the overwhelming feelings of devastation and loss that are difficult to rally against.
Dante and Cobie’s story actually plays out for a few years – it begins with their individual struggles and then once they connect, it illustrates just how much they start to depend on one another and even though both of them find it difficult to start living again after everything that they’ve endured on their own, their connection is not something they can deny and while Dante pushes Cobie away a handful of times because he feels like he’s betraying his deceased wife, he grows to accept what is happening…the feelings that he’s developing for someone who is not Lily, and even though that realization damages him in significant ways, it also sets him free and helps him to reflect on his good memories with his family instead of dwelling on everything that he lost.
It wouldn’t be a Lani Lynn Vale story without elements of suspense and drama, so as Dante and Cobie work through their personal issues and pull themselves out of the hellish existence they’ve been living, they also must deal with a mutual enemy – one that has caused more damage than either of them could have ever imagined and as this person wreaks havoc behind the scenes, when the story’s climax is reached, it’s way more life altering than they or readers would have thought possible.
The character who stole my heart was Dante’s daughter Mary. She absolutely saves him from himself…from the pain…from the grief because she is a ray of blinding sunshine in his darkness. She may be a child with down syndrome, but she’s more so a little girl who loves life and who radiates adoration for her father and for all those in her life who understand just how special she is.
Lani Lynn Vale continues to write intriguing story lines with complex characters who readers watch transform, in both positive and negative ways, as their stories are told. And all I can say is be prepared to endure a wide range of emotions as Dante and Cobie’s story plays out on the pages of Hail Mary.
4.5 Poison Apples
I. Can’t. Word.
Holy crap.
This book.
Dante.
Omg.
I just KNEW Dante’s Book was going to kill me. I knew it. I have the mother of all Book hangovers now because HOW DO YOU TOP THAT?! Seriously?! How?! I’ve been waiting on pins and needles for this book and not only did I get what I was hoping for, but so much more! So much swoon, so much emotion, so much shock. So much EVERYTHING! This is hands down one of Lani’s best books, which is saying something since all of them are pretty darn incredible. Hail Mary stands out above all the rest.
You will need tissues, but you’ll still get Lani’s signature humor and heat. Dante’s story is exactly as heartbreaking as I knew it would be, but Cobie? I didn’t see her coming. She was incredible. Everything I could have ever wanted for Dante and more.
This is going to be short and sweet because I don’t want to give away spoilers … but holy hell was this book freaking amazing!
I knew …. KNEW …. that Dante’s story was going to be heartbreaking and heart wrenching. I WAS RIGHT! What Dante suffered and the strength that he his character had to pull himself out was amazing to read. His love for his daughter was a beautiful thing that had me smiling and crying at the same time. By the time I was done I had cried so much during this story that my eyes were swelling, but it was worth it!
And Cobie!! OMG was she amazing! She is everything that I think of when it comes to strong female characters. Yes, she has her own damaged parts, but she is a fighter! Her strength is bone deep. She is passionate and determined, but also caring a loving. She is the perfect woman to contrast with Dante.
There is danger in this story (it is a LLV book!), but this story to me was about overcoming grief and finding oneself. And both Cobie and Dante did that in spades. The danger just added flavor to the story :). All in all, FREAKING AMAZING! LLV knocked this story out of the park! She brought emotion in spade and gave a roller coaster ride of feelings and forgiveness.
eARC through Enticing Journey Book Promotions
Hail Mary is like being on the biggest emotional roller coaster you can find, I cried, I got angry and I smiled so big my face hurt. My heart broke for Dante’s suffering as he struggled with losing his whole world. It takes a beautiful unexpected miracle by the name of Mary to drag this man from the depths of darkness to the edge of the light. However It takes a woman who has suffered a loss of another kind to bring him from the edge to front and center of the light. Cobie and Mary were two characters that you can’t help form a connection with and fall instantly in love with. Dante and Cobie’s story is packed full of drama, suspense, romance, heartache and is flirty and sexy. Hail Mary is a story that will give you hope and inspiration. This book is nothing less than a ten star read and was worth every tear I shed as I took the journey that was Dante’s revival.
I know I say it every time but Lani Lynn Vale has done it once again just WOW Hail Mary has got to be one of my favorites and that it some pretty tough competition I do admit being a bit hesitant with this one but I’m so happy I read it was hooked from the first page . Hail Mary can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend that you read Hail Raisers in order and possibly first start with Right to my wrong book eight in The Heroes of The Dixie Wardens . We also get more of the men in Freebirds which is my favorite series plus add in a grown up kiddo with a crush on a man of mystery and I must say I’m so excited to start the free series just YAY . Going into Hail Mary I knew my emotions were going to be all over the place but WOW some of the things I didn’t see coming . If two people who have had there share of loss and run ins with unfortunate luck it would be Dante and Cobie these two just couldn’t catch a break until they are brought together lets just say things start to change . Dante is such an amazing father the way he is with Mary had me swooning while also breaking my heart when he remembers certain things , he’s fiercely protective , blunt , and had me wanting to jump his bones a time or two . I don’t want to give to much away about Cobie but I will tell you she is so brave , funny , sweet , beautiful , and strong just what the hero needs plus her relationship with Mary is adorable . OH MY GOSH when I got to THE END I was so sad because I need more LLV , her next book will be Law and Beard and I’m so excited to read Steels story book Eight in The Dixie Wardens Rejects MC . If Lani lynn Vale is new to you I Highly recommend one clicking every one of her books like now (wink ) .
copy provided for honest review
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hero= 10 heroine= 10 secondary characters= 10 Chemistry= 10 steam= 6
romance= 6 humor= 5 darkness level=6 action=5 mystery= 4
enjoyment= 10 angst=3 story line= 10 Story ending=10
character development=10 pacing= 10
cover= 10 stars= 5
would I recommend this book= yes
would I re read this book= yes
would I read future books by this author= yes
As a fan of this series, I have been both dying for and dreading Dante’s book for while now, as I knew it would be both amazing as well as an emotional rollercoaster, and, I have to say, that Lani Lynn Vale did not disappoint!
Dante Hail is a broken man after the death of his wife and children. He barely keeps it together and has pretty much been hiding out from friends and family just trying to get through each day without waking up in a cold sweat or having a panic attack because he has lost those he loves most.
When his one night stand Marianne, dying of cancer, finds him at his cabin and drops off the infant Dante didn’t know existed, his life is irrevocably changed. Mary becomes his salvation. She’s a beautiful and special child . . . and one he doesn’t want, because she is a constant reminder to everything he has lost. But, whether he wants her or not, Dante is all Mary has . . . and, whether or not he is ready to start living his life again, Mary is the key to bringing him back into the world and to his family.
When he fulfills the wish of a dying woman, Dante is pulled even further back into the land of the living when he promises to check on her best friend, Cobie. Cobie Cavanagh quickly ingrains herself into Dante and Mary’s lives without meaning too. She gives him a reason to feel again and he gives her a reason to live. Cancer, however, isn’t the only threat to Cobie’s health. Marianne’s ex-husband is not all he seems, and he has his sights set on Cobie.
Dante will not only be forced to feel again, but to protect the new family that was unexpectedly thrust upon him when he needed them most.
Hail Mary was a book that broke my heart and then pieced it back together again. Dante has been through more loss than any one person should ever have to deal with. It’s no wonder he has shut himself away from life and is just going through the basic motions of trying to survive. When the gift of Mary is unexpectedly forced on him, he has no choice but to function for her . . .and it probably saves his life in more ways in one.
Mary is a special child that everyone loves. She’s goodness and light and a smile from her helps to start fixing Dante’s broken heart. Things change again for Dante when Cobie enters the picture. She’s ready to give up and give in to the cancer ravaging her body for the second time. She’s in a place that Dante has only started crawling out of. He sees something in her and knows she has no one and can’t help but to pull her into his space to help take care of her after her surgery. Mary sees something in Dante as well, but doesn’t know if she will ever be able to break past the barriers he has places around his heart after losing his first family. She’s so strong and caring, yet completely vulnerable. She’s a second chance at life for Dante if only he can reach out and take it.
This book is emotionally exhausting in the best of ways! The ups and downs faced by these characters take you on a whirlwind of a journey. And, if that isn’t enough, Marianne’s ex is truly a bad guy who is not giving up what he thinks is his without one hell of a fight. Lani Lynn Vale throws in such a plot twist with this that I know I gasped out loud while reading!
Grab this book today. Make sure to stock up on tissues, chocolate and/or ice cream, alcohol and possibly even a book buddy or reading support group because this book is going ravage you emotionally in the best of ways and leave you with an ending you don’t want to miss. 5 stars!
I’ve been waiting for Dante’s HEA since I found out about his tragedy! We’ve caught glimpses of Dante in several previous books, and when I read of the death of his family, it burned. Reading about what he was going through in the other Hail books really hurt.
This book was everything I could have hoped for Dante, and so much more. Cobie is a perfect match for him. After experiencing her own brand of tragedy, she has an understanding of his pain that I don’t think anyone else could have.
I love how protective Dante is of Mary. I can see from the bits and pieces we were given, that she has wonderful personality, and hope to see more of her in future books.
This book not only has a HEA that we were waiting (im)patiently for, it also has all of the excitement, drama, and bad guys that we have come to expect from a Lani Lynn Vale story. Add in the visits from much love characters from past books, and hints of things to come, and it doesn’t really get much better than this!